7 Wonders of the Totalitarian World

Man Hands!

It’s all about the giant hands:

Photos from Esquire, courtesy of Miss Fipi Lele.

Here’s what these wonders are:

1. Fist Crushing U.S. Fighter Plane, Libya
2. Monument to President Laurent Kabila, Democratic Republic of Congo
3. Lenin’s Mausoleum, Russia
4. Monument to President Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmenistan
5. Mao Leading the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, China
6. The Hands of Victory, Iraq
7. Monument to the Founding of the North Korean Worker’s Party, North Korea

Render Into Caesar

If the folks at Family Security Matters have their way — see this article from Google’s cache titled Conquering the Drawbacks of Democracy (they’ve since taken the article down from their site) — America could earn its own totalitarian wonder. Here’s an excerpt (the emphasis is mine):

Caesar pacified Gaul by mass slaughter; he then used his successful army to crush all political opposition at home and establish himself as permanent ruler of ancient Rome. This brilliant action not only ended the personal threat to Caesar, but ended the civil chaos that was threatening anarchy in ancient Rome – thus marking the start of the ancient Roman Empire that gave peace and prosperity to the known world.

If President Bush copied Julius Caesar by ordering his army to empty Iraq of Arabs and repopulate the country with Americans, he would achieve immediate results: popularity with his military; enrichment of America by converting an Arabian Iraq into an American Iraq (therefore turning it from a liability to an asset); and boost American prestiege while terrifying American enemies.

He could then follow Caesar’s example and use his newfound popularity with the military to wield military power to become the first permanent president of America, and end the civil chaos caused by the continually squabbling Congress and the out-of-control Supreme Court.

President Bush can fail in his duty to himself, his country, and his God, by becoming “ex-president” Bush or he can become “President-for-Life” Bush: the conqueror of Iraq, who brings sense to the Congress and sanity to the Supreme Court. Then who would be able to stop Bush from emulating Augustus Caesar and becoming ruler of the world? For only an America united under one ruler has the power to save humanity from the threat of a new Dark Age wrought by terrorists armed with nuclear weapons.

It’s a bit over-the-top, even for neocons. I had to look around the site to confirm that it wasn’t some kind of Daily Show or Onion-style parody. Apparently, it’s the real, non-ironic deal.

Anyhow, if Family Security Matters get their wish, may I suggest this as a design for their totalitarian monument?